The second in the Studies in the Design Laboratory epub series produced by the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and the CCA, this publication traces the development of complex computational geometry in the work of Ron Resch. Resch’s strikingly novel generative methods laid the seeds of computational origami, and during the early 1970’s he collaborated in the pioneering computer science department of the University of Utah, a hotbed of early computer graphics. Featuring interviews with Resch’s collaborators, excerpts from his remarkable films, and a consideration of the role of the architect in cross-disciplinary laboratories, this epub argues for Resch as one of the first true computational designers.

Geometric Computation: Foundations for Design describes the mathematical and computational concepts that are central to the practical application of design computation in a manner tailored to the visual designer. Uniquely pairing key topics in code and geometry, this book develops the two key faculties required by designers that seek to integrate computation into their creative practice: an understanding of the structure of code in object-oriented programming, and a proficiency in the fundamental geometric constructs that underlie much of the computational media in visual design.

The current transition from Computer Aided Design (CAD) to Computational Design in architecture represents a profound shift in design thinking and methods. Representation is being replaced by simulation, and the crafting of objects is moving towards the generation of integrated systems through designer-authored computational processes. While there is a particular history of such an approach in architecture, its relative newness requires the continued progression of novel modes of design thinking for the architect of the 21st century. This AD Reader establishes a foundation for such thinking. It includes multifaceted reflections and speculations on the profound influence of computational paradigms on architecture. It presents relevant principles from the domains of mathematics and computer science, developmental and evolutionary biology, system science and philosophy, establishing a discourse for computational design thinking in architecture. Rather than a merely technical approach, the book will discuss essential intellectual concepts that are fundamental not only for a discourse on computational design but also for its practice. This anthology provides a unique collection of seminal texts by authors, who have either provided a significant starting point through which a computational approach to design has been pursued or have played a considerable role in shaping the field. An important aspect of this book is the manner in which adjacent fields and historical texts are connected. Both the source of original inspiration and scientific thought are presented alongside contemporary writings on the continually evolving computational design discourse. Emerging from the field of science, principally the subjects of morphogenesis, evolution and mathematics, selected texts provide a historical basis for a reconfigured mindset of processes that generate, arrange and describe form. Juxtaposed against more contemporary statements regarding the influence of computation on design thinking, the book offers advancements of fundamental texts to the particular purpose of establishing novel thought processes for architecture, theoretically and practically. The first reader to provide an effective framework for computational thinking in design. Includes classic texts by Johan W. von Goethe, D’Arcy Thompson, Ernst Mayr, Ludwig von Bertalanffy, Gordan Pask, Christopher Alexander, John H. Holland, Nicholas Negroponte, William Mitchell, Peter J. Bentley & David W. Corne, Sanford Kwinter, John Frazer, Kostis Terzidis, Michael Weinstock and Achim Menges Features new writing by: Mark Burry, Jane Burry, Manuel DeLanda and Peter Trummer.

Codify: Parametric and Computational Design in Landscape Architecture provides a series of essays that explore what it means to use, modify and create computational tools in a contemporary design environment. Landscape architecture has a long history of innovation in the areas of computation and media, particularly in how the discipline represents, analyses, and constructs complex systems. This curated volume spans academic and professional projects to form a snapshot of digital practices that aim to show how computation is a tool that goes beyond methods of representation and media. The book is organized in four sections; syntax, perception, employ, and prospective. The essays are written by leading academics and professionals and the sections examine the role of computational tools in landscape architecture through case studies, historical accounts, theoretical arguments, and nascent propositions.

Data, Matter, Design presents a comprehensive overview of current design processes that rely on the input of data and use of computational design strategies, and their relationship to an array of outputs. Technological changes, through the use of computational tools and processes, have radically altered and influenced our relationship to cities and the methods by which we design architecture, urban, and landscape systems. This book presents a wide range of curated projects and contributed texts by leading architects, urbanists, and designers that transform data as an abstraction, into spatial, experiential, and performative configurations within urban ecologies, emerging materials, robotic agents, adaptive fields, and virtual constructs. Richly illustrated with over 200 images, Data, Matter, Design is an essential read for students, academics, and professionals to evaluate and discuss how data in design methodologies and theoretical discourses have evolved in the last two decades and why processes of data collection, measurement, quantification, simulation, algorithmic control, and their integration into methods of reading and producing spatial conditions, are becoming vital in academic and industry practices.

Design Computing will help you understand the rapidly evolving relationship between computing, designers, and the many different environments they create or work in. The book introduces the topic of design computing, and covers the basics of hardware and software, so you don’t need to be an expert. Topics include the fundamentals of digital representation, programming and interfaces for design; the shifting landscape of opportunity and expectation in practice and pedagogy; placing sensors in buildings to measure performance; and the challenge of applying information effectively in design. The book also includes additional reading for those who wish to dig deeper into the subject. Design Computing will provide you with a greater awareness of the issues that permeate the field, opportunities for you to investigate, and perhaps motivation to push the boundaries.

“The Language of Design” articulates the theory that there is a language of design. Drawing upon insights from computational language processing, the language of design is modeled computationally through latent semantic analysis (LSA), lexical chain analysis (LCA), and sentiment analysis (SA). The statistical co-occurrence of semantics (LSA), semantic relations (LCA), and semantic modifiers (SA) in design text is used to illustrate how the reality producing effect of language is itself an enactment of design, allowing a new understanding of the connections between creative behaviors. The computation of the language of design makes it possible to make direct measurements of creative behaviors which are distributed across social spaces and mediated through language. The book demonstrates how machine understanding of design texts based on computation over the language of design yields practical applications for design management.